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What does hiking the Pacific Trail have to do with being the beloved of God? Only our co-host Joe Chambers could answer that question in such a unique and personal way. Listen in as Joe weaves his own personal stories from the trail with the four words that Henri Nouwen talks about in his timeless classic “The Life of the Beloved.”
1. Chosen
“To be chosen as the Beloved of God is something radically different. Instead of excluding others, it includes others. Instead of rejecting others as less valuable, it accepts others in their own uniqueness. It is not a competitive, but a compassionate choice.” ― Henri J.M. Nouwen, Life of the Beloved
2. Blessed: Psalm 103: 1-5
What are you thankful for? Some of what Joe mentioned in the podcast:
3. Broken: 2 Cor 12:6-10
4. Given: “Our greatest fulfillment lies in giving ourselves to others.” ― Henri J.M. Nouwen, Life of the Beloved
“For me, God is the one who calls me the Beloved, and I have a desire to express to others how I try to become more fully who I already am.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World
Join us for the conversation and be reminded that you are the beloved of God and how it can bring wholeness to a fragmented soul in a broken life.
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN PODCAST
Moment to Breathe - excerpt from “Life of the Beloved” by Henri Nouwen
Aren’t you, like me, hoping that some person, thing, or event will come along to give you that final feeling of inner well being you desire? Don’t you often hope: “Maybe this book, idea, course, trip, job, country, or relationship will fulfill my deepest desire.” But as long as you are waiting for that mysterious moment you will go on running helter skelter, always anxious and restless, always lustful and angry, never fully satisfied. You know that this is the compulsiveness that keeps us going and busy, but at the same time makes us wonder whether we are getting anywhere in the long run. This is the way to spiritual exhaustion and burnout. This is the way to spiritual death.
Well, you and I don’t have to kill ourselves. We are the Beloved. We are intimately loved long before our parents, teachers, spouses, children, and friends loved or wounded us. That’s the truth of our lives. That’s the truth I want you to claim for yourself. That’s the truth spoken by the voice that says, “You are my Beloved.”
Listening to that voice with great inner attentiveness, I hear at my center words that say: “I have called you by name, from the very beginning. You are mine and I am yours. You are my Beloved, on you my favor rests. I have molded you in the depths on the earth and knit you together in your mother’s womb. I have carved you in the palms of my hands and hidden you in the shadow of my embrace. I look at you with infinite tenderness and care for you with care more intimate than that of a mother for her child. I have counted every hair on your head and guided you at every step. Wherever you go, I go with you, and wherever you rest, I keep watch. I will give you food that will satisfy all your hunger and drink that will quench all your thirst. I will not hide my face from you. You know me as your own as I know you as my own. You belong to me. I am your father, your mother, your brother, your sister, your lover, and your spouse...yes, even your child...wherever you are I will be. Nothing will ever separate us. We are one.”
Henri Nouwen (an excerpt from Life of the Beloved)
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